Last fall I was part of a class that took me way out of my comfort zone. It involved a lot of media and I had to create a few pieces of media from scratch. So I took one hobby my friend has, cosplaying, for which I am often helping her, and showed how this activity, handler for a cosplayer, broke me out of a shell. Speaking with people is not one of my strong points, I tend to be shy, and these experiences of helping my friend cosplay have exposed me to so many people.
So that is what the project was, what I did using wevideo is to take pictures of my time at one of these cosplay conventions and create a story of my experience using my voice to tell the story and these pictures to help bring the story to life.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
HW Creativity
Creativity doesn't always mean original idea, sometimes it means taking two existing things and combining them into something new but not original. There is a line though between making something new and just copying something old, creativity vs plagiarism, that if not kept to can lead to big issues. One such company that comes down hard on copyright infringement is Disney. Even though Disney fights piracy with a no tolerance attitude, creativity is, if not fostered, given room to grow. This is important because pieces like the mash-ups featured in Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why? promotes creativity, hard work, and fun.
While Disney is within its rights to go after piracy of its works, stomping down on all forms of creativity has negative affects. The creativity of one person can lead to new ideas for original content being made. A mash-up of Bambi singing some random song can lead to an idea for a new R&B singing deer who goes out to save the forest through concerts. I mean that wasn't very creative but the idea still holds that one piece of creative work can lead to new works that, like dominoes, can lead to the next big sensation that changes the word.
While Disney is within its rights to go after piracy of its works, stomping down on all forms of creativity has negative affects. The creativity of one person can lead to new ideas for original content being made. A mash-up of Bambi singing some random song can lead to an idea for a new R&B singing deer who goes out to save the forest through concerts. I mean that wasn't very creative but the idea still holds that one piece of creative work can lead to new works that, like dominoes, can lead to the next big sensation that changes the word.
Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
Virtual Worlds, like all technology, can be an amazing asset to build people up or a weapon to tear people down. In the end it all comes down to how governed they are and how people choose to use these worlds.
A Virtual world can be the next logical step up from the internet classroom. There are, for some children, aspects about themselves that keep them from being more vocal. This could be anything from a dislike for their own appearance to a speech impediment that keeps them from participating. A virtual world could help to remove some of these issues through the use of hardware and software that correct speech impediments or an avatar that is of the child's making. As stated in The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher teachers prefer to have finished products in their classroom and these virtual classrooms are not perfect.
Virtual classrooms do have a disconnect between the teachers and the students. The disconnect helps those who are shy but it also leaves doubt of who is attending the classes. In addition to this there is no guarantee that the virtual classroom will be secure and always connected, not to mention areas where internet is less stable. These uncertainties prevent Virtual Classrooms from being a tool that Teachers trust, and understandingly so, because there are enough obstacles to teaching that the classroom being one more could be a huge issue.
If Virtual worlds can become stable places for people to go, and they can be safe places instead of anonymous bullying, then the real world could be positively influenced. If people can role play as a hero in the virtual world then, as seen in Virtual world may impact realworld behaviour, perhaps virtual worlds can be used to help improve people's real world interactions. Though the opposite is also true as playing the villain can lead to evil mad scientist thinking!
Oddly enough the potential for virtual worlds has already been explored in a couple of, really good, movies. The Matrix and Ready Player One are both great movies that deal with the potential of Virtual worlds. It would be great if, like in Ready Player One, there was a place to escape the real world and change from who we are for society and instead be who we want to be for ourselves. Again though, this will always depend on who the people users are and who they try to be.
A Virtual world can be the next logical step up from the internet classroom. There are, for some children, aspects about themselves that keep them from being more vocal. This could be anything from a dislike for their own appearance to a speech impediment that keeps them from participating. A virtual world could help to remove some of these issues through the use of hardware and software that correct speech impediments or an avatar that is of the child's making. As stated in The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher teachers prefer to have finished products in their classroom and these virtual classrooms are not perfect.
Virtual classrooms do have a disconnect between the teachers and the students. The disconnect helps those who are shy but it also leaves doubt of who is attending the classes. In addition to this there is no guarantee that the virtual classroom will be secure and always connected, not to mention areas where internet is less stable. These uncertainties prevent Virtual Classrooms from being a tool that Teachers trust, and understandingly so, because there are enough obstacles to teaching that the classroom being one more could be a huge issue.
If Virtual worlds can become stable places for people to go, and they can be safe places instead of anonymous bullying, then the real world could be positively influenced. If people can role play as a hero in the virtual world then, as seen in Virtual world may impact realworld behaviour, perhaps virtual worlds can be used to help improve people's real world interactions. Though the opposite is also true as playing the villain can lead to evil mad scientist thinking!
Oddly enough the potential for virtual worlds has already been explored in a couple of, really good, movies. The Matrix and Ready Player One are both great movies that deal with the potential of Virtual worlds. It would be great if, like in Ready Player One, there was a place to escape the real world and change from who we are for society and instead be who we want to be for ourselves. Again though, this will always depend on who the people users are and who they try to be.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Blog: Social networking sites
Social media sites, from a design standpoint, are meant to create communities and bring people together, just not people from other social media sites.
For some of the craziest real life stories I would definitely pay attention to Facebook. The amount of personal, and frankly stupid, information people put on Facebook is insane. The same people who complain about privacy issues are also posting everything, and I mean everything, in their daily lives ON Facebook. So the information you get falls in the category of TMI (too much info) or Fake News, where people try, and succeed, in convincing people of "facts", or alternative truths, that they believe in.
Twitter suffers from the same issues, just with fewer words. This leads to even more misinformation because the whole story is NEVER told in tweets fully enough to get the whole picture. That same out of context line then gets retweeted over and over and people make fools of themselves. Twitter is also a great platform for hate, as seen in the news recently, because the whole story is never seen so only the parts that prove a point are expressed.
Reddit is an interesting social media site. The creators/owners attempt to take a "hands off" approach to governing the site. Oddly enough this makes it easier to have a community on there as you can find a subreddit to your tastes and jump right in. There is still a lot of misinformation and lies, but for the most part that is limited to a subreddit of like minded people instead of broadcasting it to everyone on a network.
Youtube is my favorite social media site. There are rules and regulations for it and while there is misinformation as well, it is avoidable. Also the communities are easy to get into and enjoy as you know already what the channel is about and can avoid the ones that don't interest you.
So if I was to list them in order of preference I would say Youtube, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook in terms of enjoy-ability and community.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Blog Social networking
Social Networking is like all new technology, a neutral tool that can be used for either good or evil. An example of each, for social networking, can be seen in LinkedIn and Facebook. These sites both have custom settings and require a bit of common sense when using. Though both were started with the best intentions, one has strayed from it's original design and become a bit less friendly to the user.
LinkedIn, a website used for finding employers and employees alike, was built on the idea of social networking as a way to help fill job openings. There are many settings available when creating a LinkedIn account, including one that allows others to contact the user when there is an available position for them. Once the account is created though, that is when common sense has to come into play. As Frank Langfitt quoted in his article Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting "Crawford-Hentz says it's important to load your profile with the right keywords so people can find you the way she found LaSpina." It makes sense when setting up a profile on LinkedIn that the best, and as many as possible, keywords be used to insure that others can find you for the position you want, and that they need filled, rather than for any random position.
Facebook on the other hand has stray from it's original design. Meant to be the social networking site to replace MySpace and create a safe space for friends and families to connect, Facebook has become very user UNfriendly. The safe space it was supposed to be has turned into a maze of settings for privacy that are not intuitive and not very safe, not even mentioning the data "leaks" that have been reported. The settings are so convoluted that not even the sister of the creator can make heads or tails of the instructions. Which leads to the use of common sense, if you don't want the world to know, don't put it on a social media site. Rebecca Greenfield pointed out in her article Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private that "People will find photos they declare 'meaningful' and post them elsewhere — 'fair use' is a vague term in the sharing economy, whether you're a member of the media or not." Meaning if you put something on the internet then the chances are really high that someone will find it and post it somewhere else making it public for all to see.
These technologies, when used properly and transparently, can be a great way to reconnect with friends, family, and even make new friends. They do require an honest own/creator, common sense, and good privacy settings. With how easy it is to spread fake news, private information, and half baked ideas, these tools are very dangerous, but in the right hands they can be tools for education, connecting with people, and making the world a better place.
LinkedIn, a website used for finding employers and employees alike, was built on the idea of social networking as a way to help fill job openings. There are many settings available when creating a LinkedIn account, including one that allows others to contact the user when there is an available position for them. Once the account is created though, that is when common sense has to come into play. As Frank Langfitt quoted in his article Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting "Crawford-Hentz says it's important to load your profile with the right keywords so people can find you the way she found LaSpina." It makes sense when setting up a profile on LinkedIn that the best, and as many as possible, keywords be used to insure that others can find you for the position you want, and that they need filled, rather than for any random position.
Facebook on the other hand has stray from it's original design. Meant to be the social networking site to replace MySpace and create a safe space for friends and families to connect, Facebook has become very user UNfriendly. The safe space it was supposed to be has turned into a maze of settings for privacy that are not intuitive and not very safe, not even mentioning the data "leaks" that have been reported. The settings are so convoluted that not even the sister of the creator can make heads or tails of the instructions. Which leads to the use of common sense, if you don't want the world to know, don't put it on a social media site. Rebecca Greenfield pointed out in her article Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private that "People will find photos they declare 'meaningful' and post them elsewhere — 'fair use' is a vague term in the sharing economy, whether you're a member of the media or not." Meaning if you put something on the internet then the chances are really high that someone will find it and post it somewhere else making it public for all to see.
These technologies, when used properly and transparently, can be a great way to reconnect with friends, family, and even make new friends. They do require an honest own/creator, common sense, and good privacy settings. With how easy it is to spread fake news, private information, and half baked ideas, these tools are very dangerous, but in the right hands they can be tools for education, connecting with people, and making the world a better place.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
BLOG: Blog v Wiki
There are a few differences between a Blog and a Wiki. All media has an intended audience and a set of content creators, these forms of media do target the same source nor share content creators. Neither one is more valid than the other as both are as factual as the sources they provide, both are biased towards the views of the author(s). This is where the differences begin, the authors of the wiki or blog.
A Blog is usually a single author with a very directed point of view. A wiki on the other hand can be a single author but it is usually a collaboration of authors, both formal and informal collaborations, all weighing in on the same subject.
A Blog has a certain characteristic to it which draws like minded people to that specific author. Where as a wiki tends to have less character and more information. This is again because of the difference in authorship, one versus the many.
Finally a Blog has a direct audience, fans or like thinkers, and as such has a narrower purpose. A wiki reaches the masses in it's generalization of knowledge and lack of individual writing style. So once again the authors dictate the differences between Blogs and wikis.
A Blog is usually a single author with a very directed point of view. A wiki on the other hand can be a single author but it is usually a collaboration of authors, both formal and informal collaborations, all weighing in on the same subject.
A Blog has a certain characteristic to it which draws like minded people to that specific author. Where as a wiki tends to have less character and more information. This is again because of the difference in authorship, one versus the many.
Finally a Blog has a direct audience, fans or like thinkers, and as such has a narrower purpose. A wiki reaches the masses in it's generalization of knowledge and lack of individual writing style. So once again the authors dictate the differences between Blogs and wikis.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Video Games the Books of New Media
I am going to explore the direction of Video Games as a new Media, one that does not have a direct "Old Media" counter part, but is rather a mixture of some of the older media. The newest form of media to become relevant usually follows the same pattern. When the media is first introduced it is considered a waste of time that children spend too much time on. Eventually something happens to cause some sort of scandal which increases the spread of this new media format. Finally the new media is accepted as part of the current culture and can be used, maybe not to it's fullest potential, but the possibilities expand beyond the original intention of the media. I intend to prove that Video Games are a new form of media by looking to the past of books and television with context to how they transformed into New Media after being introduced to society.
I am going to explore the direction of Video Games as a new Media, one that does not have a direct "Old Media" counter part, but is rather a mixture of some of the older media. The newest form of media to become relevant usually follows the same pattern. When the media is first introduced it is considered a waste of time that children spend too much time on. Eventually something happens to cause some sort of scandal which increases the spread of this new media format. Finally the new media is accepted as part of the current culture and can be used, maybe not to it's fullest potential, but the possibilities expand beyond the original intention of the media. I intend to prove that Video Games are a new form of media by looking to the past of books and television with context to how they transformed into New Media after being introduced to society.
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